Hah! It's Working!

I am about to break under 200 lbs. The Isagenix program is working, and I weighed in at 200.5 today.

I am so close to the first goal I can't stand it! I want to see a '1' instead of a '2' as the first number on the scale.

I purged my house of anything I could grab and stuff in my face. I seem to be a food addict, and it is identical to the cravings I got when I quit smoking.

Fortunately I am very strong-willed. Screw you, Sara Lee!

I threw out the sugar - white, brown, and confectioner's.

I tossed the flour.

Tossed the Bisquick and the pancake mix.

I have no cold cuts, cheese or bread.

I have no white potatoes or rice.

Next post I will tell you all the yummy stuff I have!

I'm back and lighter than ever with a new plan

This morning I weigh 207. I have embarked on a new plan, as of four days ago,  involving Isagenix products. When I started I weighed 210.

These products seem to me to be the best out there. They have healthy and natural ingredients and no artificial flavors or colors.

They also come with marketing plan. I will be upfront about this. If the products work on me, I plan to sell the heck out of them.

I am sick and tired of the marketing done of toxic and unhealthy junk food. It is literally killing us. There is also so much misinformation out there about what constitutes healthy food. Not to mention the controversial GMOs, pesticides and other toxins.

Obesity has risen as well as heart disease, cancer and diabetes rates. Our children may be the first generation that does not live as long as their parents.

Isagenix has a Shake and Cleanse Plan that I am on. This one lasts about 9 days, although you can stretch the products out. I have two big cans of the whey protein shake powder - vanilla and chocolate - and the Cleanse for Life powder. On shake days, I replace two meals with a shake. On cleanse days - two days - I drink the powdered Cleanse for Life four times a day. This is supplemented with small snack products and a lot of water. One may also eat a few almonds, an apple or pear and the like. For the third meal on shake days, I eat a 400-600 calorie meal.

It is interesting to me to see just how much of an addiction to food I have. I get cravings, much as I did for cigarettes when I smoked. I basically just cuss them out and think of something else.

I like that I don't have to think about food twice a day.  I have not had good luck with calorie counting plans - too much thinking about food. And having "just a little" of a food is difficult for me.

So watch this space. I will post daily with my progress. I will also post a link to the official  Isagenix website,so you can check out the products yourself. If you sign up through me and become an associate, it's only $29.00 and you get a significant savings on the products.

The link is here:http://www.isagenix.com/

They also have athletic performance and anti-aging products.  Their before and after testimonials are amazing. The company has been in business for 12 years and has a team of scientists researching and creating the products.

Come join me in getting healthy!

Here is a link to a good article about what Dr. Alejandro Junger, integrative physician, considers staples of a healthy kitchen:

https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/15-must-have-staples-of-a-healthy-kitchen-94728610700.html

Dr. Junger became somewhat famous in 2009 for his book, Clean, wherein he describes his struggles with detoxing from substances like sugar and dairy that seem to be everywhere in the American diet.

He has since published Clean Gut, and this spring came out with Clean Eats, which includes recipes and how to stock your kitchen.

Check out the article - it makes sense.

http://wellandgood.com/2013/10/04/nut-butter-battle-almond-vs-peanut/

For all of us confused about the difference between almond butter and peanut butter, here is a link to a good article:

http://wellandgood.com/2013/10/04/nut-butter-battle-almond-vs-peanut/

Happy buttering!

Falling off the Wagon - and getting back on it

I deviated from my eating plan this week.

I got caught unprepared and hungry and did the unthinkable on Monday - went to Mickey D's. I got a cheeseburger and fries and a diet soda.

Then Wednesday night I went to Crackerbarrel and ate chicken tenders (fried), fried okra, hashbrown casserole and corn muffin.

It all tasted good.

I refuse to beat myself up. I am instead recognizing my cravings and acknowledging them.

Then today I am back on the plan.

I had a smoothie for breakfast. One banana, six strawberries, a big clump of watercress, a little coconut milk and some chia seeds.

That tasted good, too.

I also went on a six mile bike ride on my cool looking one speed bike.

That felt wonderful!

This will be lunch. Lots of leafy greens, radishes, carrots, a few walnut pieces, and garbanzo beans sprinkled with a little Bragg Amino Acids.

And despite my falling off the wagon, my weight this morning was:

214.5

Onward and downward!

Frozen Banana "Ice Cream"

I said I would post this recipe, so here it is. It is amazingly good for when you want something sweet.
.
You have to stay prepared. Keep these frozen bananas in your freezer.

Take the peels off several bananas, especially the overripe ones, slice them like you would for cereal, and put them in a Ziploc bag and into the freezer.

When the ice cream craving hits - and you know it will - take the frozen banana pieces (adding up to a whole banana or less if you like) and pop them into your blender.

Then add a flavoring. Tonight I added fresh strawberries and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Blend it all together, adding a little coconut or almond milk if you need to thin it some.

That is it!

I tried it with Hershey's Dark Chocolate cocoa and it was wonderful! I added about two tablespoons.

You can sprinkle some slivered almonds on top or more fruit.

Have fun! Guilt free!

What I am doing

I have tried many so-called diets. Most involve tiny portions and writing down everything you eat and counting calories and - forget it. I do not want to obsess about every bite. I end up falling off the wagon, every time.

So do most of us. That is because diets suck.

NOT because we are weak. It is also because we are surrounded by junk food with little to no nutrition, but a lot of fat and/or sugar.

And I do not want to hear the pious thin people who just purse their lips and say, "Calories in, versus calories out. Just eat less and exercise more."

Bite me.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is awful. Too much meat, too much fat of the wrong kind, added sugar, overprocessed grains, sodas and hardly any vegetables or fruit.

I am following the advice of Dr. Joel Fuhrman, who advocates making the bulk of one's diet - there is that word again, but this time it means an eating plan one can live with - leafy green vegetables and other non starchy vegetables such as cauliflower, green beans, onions, peppers, carrots, celery and the like. Yeah, what they used to disparage as "rabbit food". Shut up and listen.

The next tier on the food pyramid is divided into fruits and beans. These are not unlimited as the veggies are - did I mention  you can fill up on veggies? Recommended is three or four fruits a day, and a half cup to a cup of beans a day.

Yes, I know you will run the dog out from under the covers. Beans do that. Get Beano or live with it.

Above that is nuts and seeds. These are not unlimited either, but used as a way to add healthy fats. You can make a salad dressing from raw cashews - really. Or you can sprinkle walnuts and sunflower seeds over your oatmeal like I did yesterday. throw some almonds in with your green beans.

Add a few whole grains - whole wheat bread, quinoa, oats, barley, and the like. Also recommended is cooked mushrooms for their nutrient value.

Notice I do not mention red meat or dairy. Or eggs. You can eat them, but sparingly. You don't need dairy at all - you are not a baby cow.  Fish is preferred as an animal protein, with chicken second. Once or twice a week!

Refined foods are addictive. "Bet you can't eat just one" was an actual slogan to advertise potato chips! They knew it was actually true.

The main idea is to get as much nutrition for the calories we consume. Vegetables are high in micronutrients that we need to thrive on. Vitamins and minerals and something called phytochemicals - you can look it up - are largely missing in the SAD, but not missing are fats, protein and carbohydrates, or what is known as the macronutrients.  The low fat and low carb advocates have been duking it out for decades, and both are wrong.

Dr. Fuhrman's term for the best way to eat is what he calls Nutritarian. You get the most nutrition for your calories.

That made sense to me.

Follow along and see how it works for me.

Try it yourself for two weeks. Quit whining about cheeseburgers and fries. After two weeks you won't be able to eat them - they will taste nasty.

But you can eat glorious salads, wonderful soups, fantastic fruits - and as your taste buds change, you will be amazed how good real food tastes!

Combinations of foods that work together

Here's some information that may be useful in planning meals. The chart shows combinations of foods, which when eaten together, enhance the effect of the foods.

If you will notice, it doesn't show the combination of cheeseburgers, french fries and soda. That combination only ends up on your thighs or your belly as fat.

I can see from this chart that it would be beneficial to add some avocado to a salad along with tomatoes, and why Hispanic food often includes both tomatoes and avocados.

Orange juice and oatmeal seem to stabilize your LDL or "bad" cholesterol when eaten together.

Broccoli and tomatoes have been shown to prevent prostate cancer. Plus they taste good together.

Have several different kinds of fruit, not just one, and it seems to have a synergistic effect, which means fruits do more good when in combination with each other than they do alone.

Citrus fruits make the iron in leafy greens more accessible. Mandarin oranges on top of a spinach salad wild do this.

The last one surprised me.  I'll be adding black pepper to my dishes containing turmeric!

Notice that all the foods are natural and not highly processed.  Eating a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables is the first key to the way I eat.

More on the basic plan tomorrow.

Good Morning!

I woke up this morning feeling better. I felt even better when I stepped on the scale and saw:

216

It's working! 

I just fixed my breakfast. I am having fun seeing what all will go into steel cut oats. I like steel cut better than rolled oats, but nutritionally they are similar. Today I made it this way:

1 cup water

1/3 cup oats - quick cooking steel cut

Bring water to a boil, add oats and stir, reduce heat. Cook until water is absorbed, about 3-4 minutes.

Add about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of your choice of:

Chopped walnuts

1 Medjool date, seeded and chopped

Raw sesame seeds

Ground flaxseeds

Sunflower seeds

Chopped apple or peach

Cinnamon

After it's cooked, spoon the oatmeal mixture into a bowl and if you wish, add fresh blueberries or other berries, or sliced banana. Add almond, soy or coconut milk if you want.

This oatmeal is nutty and filling. Do not add sugar or other sweetener! The date adds some sweetness, as will the other fruit. In a couple if weeks of cutting out all added sugar and artificial sugar, your taste buds will wake up to the sweetness of natural foods.Trust me on this. 

My next post will tell you what I am eating and not eating. 

It is not a flipping diet!

It is a way to get healthy.

Have a great morning!

In the beginning

Some of my Facebook friends have encouraged me to write a book about healthy eating and my journey back to health. With recipes!
This is the start of it, then. And since I have just started my journey, you can follow along with me and hold me accountable for honesty.
Here is me right now:

Nice, grandmotherly type, right?

I don't mind being a grandmother, but this is not a healthy one. I want to be around to dance at my grandchildren's weddings. 

I will be 62 in a few days, August 19, 1952. Other details are that I am 5'3" tall, and currently weigh 218 pounds. And far from being a big beautiful woman, I store all that extra fat mostly in my belly - where it can kill me. I envy those women who are overweight but still manage to have a discernable waistline.

I have Type II diabetes, high cholesterol, slightly elevated blood pressure, and lots of aches and pains from back surgery on my cervical discs and from osteoarthritis. I also have had aortic valve replacement in 2008. Lovely scar that gives you.

It could be worse. At my worst, I weighed 232. I remember thinking, when I hit that number, that I had weighed 116 in high school. I was carrying around a whole extra person!

I don't like her.

She has to go.

I started gaining weight with my second and last child - said "child" is now 26! I was 36.  He was almost ten pounds, and I had gained 50 pounds while pregnant. Looking back, I don't recall any counseling on this being not a good thing, to gain so much weight. Now I know that a child that big can indicate that the mother is on the road to developing diabetes. Which I did.

I was an Army cook for 22 years, retiring in 1996. I floundered around, looking for my next career. I tried to use my degree in Occupational Education, with a concentration in food service, to teach Culinary Arts at the local vocational school. I taught it for six months as a "permanent substitute", and had great fun with the kids. But when I applied for the actual job, I was told I had to have a degree in Home Economics.  They hired a tenured middle school Home Ec teacher.

I learned to drive an 18 wheeler.

I drove for about 15 years, sometimes with my husband, and homeschooled our youngest for three years. Came off the road and drove a bus for a retirement village for three years in the middle.

Finally I knew I needed to come off the road. My health was poor, and I just didn't want to die out there. 

So here I am, no pretenses. This is not some, "I lost a hundred pounds and you can too!" blog. If you want to, you can see my daily struggles with learning to eat healthy. Join me, too.

One of my friends did a blog like this, and she named hers "Getting to Real".

I like that.